COMPETITIVE Intelligence By Carla Waldemar
Go, Kentuckiana!
gurus advise us strivers to learn a new word a day. Well, today is Monday, and my new word is entuckiana. It’s the location of PC ome Center, based in New Albany, In.— right across the Ohio River from
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Louisville, y. (Get it?) “I can look out my window and see the city skyline right now,” declares owner avid Stemler. e wandered into the industry back in 1 soon after college by signing on at an outfit called PC Paneling—
AT PC, David Stemler quickly transitioned from the outfit’s first employee to its owner.
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The Merchant Magazine n
February 2021
the company’s first hire. One of his initial tasks was helping in the move from a converted bowling alley into a former ice-house down the street, which meant trundling the inventory— Armstrong ceilings, plastic moulding and such—by hand, for lack of a forklift. The next move, in the mid0s, was to what once was a rollerskating rink to accommodate the outfit’s increased inventory, which now included lumber, windows and doors, moulding and trim. When the company’s owner died unexpectedly in 1 , avid, now 0, was faced with a choice to make in a hurry: buy the business, or work for somebody else. Easy decision, save for one fact: The young man had no cash. With the help of his former boss’s estate and an Andersen Windows distributor, he was able to take over the company and all it entailed (including the dubious privilege of working 0-hour weeks). Seven years later, PC had again outgrown its footprint and sought yet-another site. This time, no ice house, no skating rink: avid decided to build from the ground up. Since then, thanks to three expansions, it now occupies 0,000 sq. ft. upon seven acres, and its 1 employee count of 1 has mushroomed to over 110—manning what’s become the largest independent, family-owned showroom in entuckiana. But why stop there? In 00 , avid purchased a former Stock Building Supply yard in Sellersburg, In., 1 minutes (and a world) away. “ ou don’t want to do that,” insiders counseled. But he did. Why? “Because it was so cheap ” avid laughs. And so lucrative, he might add. The 1 . -acre site anchors a 100,000 sq. ft. building in what’s now entuckiana’s biggest locally-owner lumber and hardware Building-Products.com
